Friday, March 25, 2011

How does ethnocentrism cause conflict?


When the British came to colonize Australia, they looked at the way the Aboriginals lived in an ethnocentric manner causing conflict between the two cultures. The British viewed the First Australians as savage tribes and uneducated because when the British first came to Australia, and saw the aborigine not wearing any cloth and they had less technology than the British. So the British thought they were uneducated and not superior. Such views of the First Australians showed ethnocentrism of the British because the ways of the First Australians were different to the British, they were seen as inhuman, uncivilized and foreign. From this ethnocentric viewpoint, conflict resulted between the British and the First Australians. The British brought many things to Australia. They brought small pox, animals and food, and war. Small pox killed many aborigine. They also brought animals and food which caused problems to the aborigine which made them sick. Additionally, when the British came to Australia, they tried to force them out of their home and this resulted an war. When the British forced the aborigine and changed the crops to theirs, the aborigine burned them as a payback and fought back. By doing this, the aborigine tried to protect their land. The British also tried to kill all women and children to destroy their race. As you can see, the British only thought for themselves and not for aboriginal point of view and cultures. This, British ethnocentrism triggered conflict between the groups.

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